Tasek Merimbun

Greeting readers! We would sincerely apologise for being hiatus for over a month huhu and a half, We honestly feel bad for not updating this long. We took a long break due to our other commitment to university life, talk about assignments and examinations phew! I’m glad I am over with it… for now 😂

Putting that aside, on this week post would be about Tasek Merimbun The ASEAN Heritage Park in Mukim Rambai, Tutong District. It located about 70 km from the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan and, the S-shaped lake is located 27 km away from the Tutong town. The surrounding coverage is 7800 hectare.

This park is known for its’ lake which is black in colour. In comparison, the lake does not produce any smell due to the soil nor rotten vegetation. You must be wondering what caused the water turns black, right? the colour is generated by a tannin coming from the leaves that falls into the water, as a result, the lake produces a very rich variety of fauna that includes bird, mammals, and reptiles. Tasek Merimbun is the only declared heritage site in Brunei Darussalam dated back in 1987 mainly due to its valuable asset and potential wildlife sanctuary. The crucial reason for the proclamation is because of the discovery of the rare white-collared fruit bat. If you have been to the location, then you must have known the reflection mirror produced by the lake but please be caution! There has been rumor even sigh given regarding crocodile on the site.

If you’re planning to go to Tasek Merimbun, it is best to travel using a car or through a local tour operator. By any means, if you’re traveling using a private car, make sure to stock your snacks and buckle up! enjoy the greenery scenery along the way. But before that, you could either go there via highway through Tanjung Maya village or the main road from Kiudang village. Tasek Merimbun is divided into three parts: jungle tracking, exhibition hall, and the beautiful lake. At the lake, there is a long wooden path-walk that connected the Jerundung island from the land.

On your arrival, it would be best to visit the exhibition hall first and relax awhile after the long journey, where you would be welcome by the desk counter. By the time you are there, you would come across a butterfly garden on the side on the road so make sure to spend quality time in the garden. Like any other places you have gone to, don’t take too much expectation of the place, that would just ruin the fun! hehe…

The place is inhabited by the Dusun community, the word “tasek” in English is the lake, and the named Merimbun is derived from a person’s name that discovered the place. According to the head village when I first visited the site five years ago told me, the origin of the Dusun community were from Merangking in Ulu Belait district, one day the son of the tribe named Imbun went for hunting and reached to the current location of the lake, where he discovered the beautiful lake and there are plenty of food such as fishes and wild animals. In his discovery, Imbun went back to his village and informed his people. Upon on his uncovering of the place, he brought along his family and respectively in numbers of his fellow tribe to built a new settlement in situ. In spite of all these years, I still find the story of the place is interesting and shares it with my acquaintances and friends.

However, I came across few websites such as The Daily Brunei resources regarding another version story concerning the name of the place. After the area was settled by the Dusun community, the traderS would come to bring goods to the area. One such trader was a Chinese businessman named Eng Boon and how the name of the place is derived from. On the other hand, it is said there are remains of a ship that belonged to him, such remains are the ancient Chinese ceramics dated 15th century found surrounding the lake and the island, it is also claimed that there were already trading happened as early as the 12th century. We can’t confirm regarding this other version of the story.

To end today’s post, we hope you enjoy reading the blog post and we hope you would enjoy our next trip! Have a great day ahead! ☺️